Rickettsial pathogens in the tropical rat mite Ornithonyssus bacoti (Acari: Macronyssidae) from Egyptian rats ( Rattus spp.)

We collected and tested 616 tropical rat mites ( Ornithonyssus bacoti (Hirst)) from rats ( Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout) and R. rattus (Linnaeus)) throughout 14 governorates in Egypt and tested DNA extracts from pools of these mites for Bartonella spp., Coxiella burnetii , and Rickettsia spp. by PCR amplification and sequencing. Three different mite-associated bacterial agents, including one Bartonella and two Rickettsia spp., were detected in eight pools of mites. Further research could demonstrate the vector potential of mites and pathogenicity of these agents to humans or animals.